Joseph (Yousof). Izak is Sara’s son and Ishmael is Hojar’s son
From the book: Good Stories for Good Children
Joseph is the light of Yaghoob’s (Jacob) eyes.
Joseph, son of Jacob, Jacob son of Izak, and Izak son of Abraham.
Jacob had several wives and his cousin Rauheel became his last wife. Jacob had eleven sons and the two youngest, Joseph and Benjamin, were from Rauheel. The two boys were very young when their mother passed away.
Joseph was a very attractive young boy and Jacob was very fond of his beauty and his wise way of speaking and so Joseph became his fathers favorite son and Jacob was saddened that both boys lost their mother at such young age.
One day Jacob’s sister, Joseph’s aunt, came to Jacob and said “this little boy does not have a mother and he is so good natured, I cant bear his sorrow, let me take care of him and be a mother to him.”
And Jacob agreed. Time passed and Jacob began to miss his son tremendously . One day he said to his sister “I want to take Joseph back to live with me.”
Jacob’s sister, who had no children of her own, was enjoying motherhood and kept staling in returning Joseph. So eventually Satin tempted her to come up with a way to keep Joseph.
In those days if one was caught steeling, the owner had the right to take the thief as his slave or servant.
Jacob’s sister owned a valuable belt and she secretly tied it under Joseph’s clothes and announced to everyone that the belt is missing. They began to search and eventually the belt was discovered on Joseph.
People called out “Joseph is the thief”
Jacob’s sister said “now according to the law I am authorized to decide on Joseph’s punishment.” And with this scheme she was able to keep Joseph once again.
Time passed until one day Jacob’s sister fell I’ll and passed. Jacob returned Joseph home and he was very pleased to have him back.
Joseph’s brothers were saddened at the sight of their father’s love and attention toward Joseph and they became jealous.
One day Jacob put on a colorful clothes on Joseph and his other sons said “father, you show much adoration toward Joseph. Are we not your sons also?”
Jacob replied “you are all my children and every parent loves all their children, Joseph and Benjamin are without a mother and they are the youngest. My love for them has to do with that and Joseph was away from me for a long time also Joseph would never tell lies and do something against my wishes, he is a very good boy and your younger brother and you must show your love to him as well.”
Brothers said “we understand” but their hearts were not contend and were not satisfied with Jacob’s reasoning so they spoke among themselves. “it’s not right that our father wants to be with Joseph so much and show most love to him”
Joseph’s Dream
The days passed until one day Joseph told his father about his dream.”I dreamt that the sun and the moon and eleven stars are bowing down to me”
Jacob said “to interpret your dream, it means you will hold a higher position in life than your brothers and the day will come when everyone will recognize that. You will reach prophecy and king hood status and be very close to people and be dear to God. But it is a good idea to keep such dream to ourselves and keep it from your brothers.”
Joseph, being a youngster, was excited about his dream and thought it’s ok to share with his aunt but she informed the brothers.
Once the brothers heard the news they were even more jealous and talked among themselves saying. “Joseph is getting older and becoming more dear to father. Joseph’s dream means that one day all of us will have to ware his collar around our necks and be enslaved to him. Today, rather is mesmerized by his beauty and puts fine clothes on him and when he is older our lives will be entrusted to him. We have to develop an alternative plan.”
One of the brothers who was good at making plots said “to remedy this situation we have to be exceptionally nice to Joseph until he feels at ease with us and we gain our father’s trust. After that leave the rest up to me.”
Joseph and His Jealous Brothers
Some time passed until one day the brothers all came together as a unit and told Joseph “tomorrow, we all want to go to the pasture and play and let the lambs graze in the field. You should request from father to come with us and enjoy the outing. How long do you want to sit in these four walls and be in aware of the outside world.”
Than they all came to Jacob and said “father, everyday we go to the pasture and enjoy our trip. We are shepherds and we learn about the world but Joseph never plays. You keep him in the house. We have come today to ask permission to take Joseph with us. Eventually he should have knowledge of God’s world and be happy. Joseph is young and he needs to run and play like other boys.”
Jacob said “I realize that but what can I do when my heart is not at rest when he is gone. When Joseph is away from me I get nervous, especially in a far away pasture. I get worried he falls into a pit or be eatin by wolves. I can’t overcome my worry.”
The brothers said “oh father, what words you say. Than what are we hear fir? We are eleven strong men and we know inch by inch of these pastures and you have no faith in us to keep this innocent boy from harm.”
Joseph said “yes father, please allow me to go with them and see where they go each day. You never let me go anywhere, I want to play too.”
And so they insisted and insisted until Jacob gave in and agreed. He ordered and instructed them not to leave Joseph’s side and not to let him go hungry or thirsty, and no to leave him under the hot sun. He told them “Joseph does not have a mother, I am really worried for him, don’t take him too far away… Be careful with him… ”
They yelled back “don’t worry father when it comes to taking care of Joseph no one is more responsible than us. We love our younger brother too, don’t we?”
And so they took Joseph with them, with whatever words necessary. They went farther and farther away from home and from Jacob’s eyes. Once they felt they were far enough away they showed their true nature.
The brother who was carrying Joseph upon his shoulder quickly put him down and said “I am not a Camel, you can walk like the rest of us.”
Joseph said “that’s fine. I did not ask to be carried. You were doing as father asked.”
Another said “that’s enough, father is not hear. If you talk too much, you will be sorry. You can act spoiled around father there Is no one one here to listen to you.”
Joseph said “father is not here, but God is every where.”
“alright, God is not just for you, he is for everyone” they said
Joseph said “true, God is for everyone.”
The brothers were looking for an excuse to harass, tease and make a mockery out of Joseph. After a while, one of the brothers said “so Joseph, have you had a dream lately.”
Joseph said “what do you mean?”
He said “meaning, have you had a dream that eleven brothers are bowing down to you kissing your hand and feet and you are king and a prophet over them”.
Joseph said “what is your intention?”
He said “our intention is that you think with dreaming a dream and acting innocent around father you can get your way. Well not any more.”
Joseph said “what ever God wills will be.”
He said “well, today God wills you to be in our claws and you can not breath with out us saying you can and if you scream this will happen.”
And he slapped Joseph across the face.
Joseph put his hand to his cheek and was shocked. He moved away to take shelter beside another brother saying “don’t hurt me, I am innocent.”
The brother he took shelter with said “that’s enough, I am not Jacob for you to run to.”
And so they walked from one pasture to another saying unbrotherly things to Joseph out of jealousy. Finally they reached the spot of intended purpose.
One of them said “ok, now what are we to do with this boy.”
Another said “we have to do away with him. We have to kill him, whatever the consequences will be. We can not tolerate this way of life.”
Another said “no, this is an impossible thing to do. I will not allow you to kill Joseph. Killing a person is a nightmarish thing to do. Their blood will make us ashamed and make us crazy. After all he is our brother. We have to find another way.”
They said “what should we do than? In any case Joseph can not be returned to father.”
Joseph and the Well
One of the brothers remembered “I know of a well not too far from here that the caravans use to draw water. We can put Joseph down the well and the caravan will draw him out and take. He will be far away from Kanyon and what ever God wills after that will be.”
Others disagrees saying “this is not right. Joseph might say what happened and they will return him to father and we will be discovered and Joseph will become more dear to father..”
Another said “there is a way to fix this as well. We will remain in this area and once a caravan arrives we will make up stories that Joseph is our servant and a lier and be convincing so they will take him with them and sell him in a far away land and never let him free.”
The brothers agreed “not a bad idea.”
So they took Joseph to the well and took his shirt off and wrapped a thick rope around his waste and lowered him in to the well. Joseph begged and pleaded with them to let him go but none of the brothers listened.
Joseph said “since you are ignoring my pleads and set to do this injustice on me, at least allow me to put my shirt back on and be decent. ”
“no, my brother, you can ask the same sun, moon and stars that bowed down to you to come now and cover your body.” they said.
After they secured the rope they began to lower him down. Half way down the well the brother who carried the most jealousy in his heart, cut the rope with his knife and Joseph hit the bottom of the well.
Than one of them said “ok, our job is complete. Now what do we tell father?”
Everyone else said “yes, how do we answer father?”
One of them said “I have already thought of that. Father worries most about well and wolves, so we will tell him Joseph was attacked by wolves.”
They agreed “very good, we have Joseph’s shirt and we can stain it with blood and say we freed it from the wolf.”
And so they butchered a lamb and dipped Joseph’s shirt in it and cooked the meat for the meal. They began to make their way home putting on a depressed and in mourning look. Feeling sad, distraught and teary eyed they told Jacob “father, whatever God wills it happens, we are in mourning and bring bad news. A wolf attacked Joseph in the pastures.”
Jacob let out a yell after hearing such news. “my God, how is such a thing possible. My Joseph, my dear Joseph.”
The brothers said “oh father, we can not fight with destiny and what is meant to happen. We were busy looking after the lambs and we put Joseph in charge of our belongings than all of a sudden we heard Joseph’s cries. We rushed toward him but were too late. We only have Joseph’s shirt. The wolf ran off.”
They continued with their theatrical ways saying “what a disaster this is, the biggest sorrow of our lives, oh God, what is their to do? We are without Joseph, without our brother, oh, this is such a unstable world we live in.”
Jacob fainted and fell to the ground. After some time he came to and began wailing and crying and said ” tell me the truth, what did you do to my dear Joseph?”
They said “oh father, could it be that you don’t believe us. It’s very hard, our hearts are filled with sorrow and grief but what can we do. It is as we said.”
Jacob grabbed Joseph’s shirt and put it to his face and rubbed it to his eyes. He took in the scent of Joseph’s shirt and cried and said “this shirt is in one piece. How did the wolf manage to dig Joseph out from between this shirt? Why could you not kill the wolf ?”
The brothers said ” we are very sorry. Our sorrow is the biggest sorrow to induce and bear. What else can we do. We can go out in the pasture and take revenge on all the wolves”
Jacob cried for days until his eyes turned white and could no longer see.
Joseph Was Sold
From the book Good Stories for Good Children.
The next day they went to the well and waited until the arrival of an unknown caravan. The convoy went to get water. They put down a rope with a bucket tied to the end. Joseph grabbed the rope. The people realized the bucket to be heavier than normal and once they pulled Joseph out , they were surprised.
As soon as Joseph was pulled out, his brothers rushed to the well and in all the Kayos and everyone talking whispered to Joseph “hey brother, you have to be quite and not say a word and do as the convoy says, otherwise we will so whatever needed to keep our secret. Jacob already thinks your dead and we will do what is necessary to keep it that way.”
The brothers told the leader of the caravan “this kid is our slave but he does not want to live in the desert, he wants to live in the city. He has run away many times and has told lies about who he is. And today, he has run away and hid in this well. We were unaware of his hiding place and now with your help he s discovered. We are tiered of his behavior and we will be happy to sell him to you at a price of your choosing. If you had a hard time keeping him as well you can sell him in the city. As you can see his features are very attractive but he does not want to live with us in our small city.”
The leader’s name was Maulick and he asked Joseph “boy, are they telling the truth?”
Joseph said “well, they are older than I am, but I am at no fault.”
Maulick told the brothers “I am willing to buy him for 20 dare ham.”
The brothers said “because we are worried he will run away again and be eaten by wolves, we will accept your offer. But from hear on end he is your responsibility.”
Maulick agreed “now we have to sign some paper to make the deal official so people will not think I am holding him against his will or if it turns out that you are lying.”
The brothers said “that is no problem. We are well respected in Kanyon. We are Jacob’s children who is well known in the city and this boy lived with us and was treated better than us but did not want to stay so, here is your document.”
So they signed and gave it to Maulick.
The note read: In the nam elf God, we, children of Jacob, are selling our slave to Maulick, son of Zar Khazaee, with an agreed price and from here on end the responsibility of this slave is with Maulick.
They put a seal of approval on the document and the brothers waited until the caravan was out of sight and than returned home feeling relieved.
Maulick tied Joseph up and sat him on the back of a camel so he will not run away and Joseph began to cry.
Maulick saw this and asked “what’s happened?”
Joseph did not want to tell the truth about his brothers so he said “I miss Jacob.”
Maulick replied “that’s ok. Now is not the time. We are heading for Egypt. If God wills it, one day you will see Jacob again. Bit it’s too soon to be thinking of running away.”
The convoy continued its journey and the people who brought Joseph out of the well said “what a lucky man Maulick is. Did you see what a fine slave he purchased today?”
“yes indeed” another said “he is no slave he is the moon, the flower and jewels. I have never set eyes on one like him.”
“no one has” another said “no one knows why they sold him so cheap.”
Maulick was also questioning himself as to why. He thought to himself ‘this slave is not like other slaves, he is more an angle. There must be a reason why they sold him so cheap.’
The convoy entered Egypt. Maulick took his supplies to the market and dressed Joseph and took him to the slave market. There were people who were buying slaves for the king of Egypt and they purchased Joseph and paid Maulick whatever price he asked for and took Joseph to the king.
When the set eyes on Joseph he was overwhelmed by his beauty and since he had no children thought to himself ‘wouldn’t it be nice if I could have a child like this slave. Now I will teach him proper manners and if he performs well I will take him as my own son.’
Next story see: Joseph and Zolaykha
Joseph and Zolaykha
From the book: Good Stories for Good Children
The king took Joseph to his wife Zolaykha and said “look after this slave well,Miami hoping he will be a benefit to us and we can take him as our own son.”
Zolaykha was so impressed With Joseph that for a long time could not pull her eyes away from him.
They allowed Joseph into Zolaykha’s domain in the castle and treated Joseph with kindness as the king instructed and Joseph performed better than expected on the responsibilities and tasks that was assigned to him.
From time to time the king would ask about Joseph and Zolaykha would tell him about his intellect and wisdom.
As each day passed Zolaykha would feel closer to Joseph and she wished in secret and away from her husband’s knowledge that she could make Joseph be attracted to her.
Zolaykha would have Joseph clean her room and bring food, any jobs that would keep Joseph at her side. Zolaykha wanted to be Joseph’s mistress and the other women in the castle were aware of her infatuation toward Joseph but he reframed from making eye contact with Zolaykha and kept himself involved with his tasks.
Finally Zolaykha came to the conclusion that Joseph does not pay any attention to her. Maybe Joseph is afraid of her power, being the king’s wife. And so one day Zolaykha decorated her room and made an excuse to bring Joseph. She closed the door and set aside her pride and said “Joseph, you have lived with us for a while and you can see that I Cavour you over anyone else and you know that I am the king’s wife and others in the castle wished that they were in your position receiving such attention from me. But I see that you do not return the same attention to me. You are a young man with feelings and needs. Let me tell you that from the moment I layer eyes on you I was infatuated and fell in love with you and my wish is that you return the same feeling.”
Joseph replied “you said what you had to say and I listened, but let me tell you that their is no way and I will not commit this sinful adultery. What you say is a sin and I am not scared of the king but of my God and I will not allow these thoughts to enter my mind and if you were smart you would protect your Horner and do away with this satin like thoughts otherwise, you will be burnt in your own fire of lust.”
Zolaykha felt since she had already exposed her fragile feelings to Joseph and her pride and character were attacked. One again she tried with all her flirtation behavior to bring Joseph close to her. She grabbed his hand and pleaded with him and tried to make his understand but Joseph became angry and pulled his hand away and took quick long strides to exit the room.
Zolaykha ran after him insisting upon her feelings once more. As they reached the door Zolaykha grabbed Joseph’s shirt from behind and ripped it. Sudenly the king appeared and noticed Joseoh and Zolykha in distress.
Before anyone could say a word, Zolaykha, to save her honor, began slandering Joseph and said “I am so glad to see you. See what’s going on in your home? You buy a miserable slave from an unknown man and bring him to our home and we support and nourish him and now this ungrateful slave has the audacity to raise his hand upon the kings wife. God knows what could have happened if you did not show up. Now you decide, I can not tolerate this godless man in our home. His place should be non other than prison and not in the house of the king.”
The king was angry and asked Joseph “what do you have to say for yourself?”
Joseph said “only the truth. The things she said are all lies. God is my witness that my intentions were pure and I am not at fault. Zolaykha was the one leading me a stray, she asked me to come to her room, she showed interest in me and when I told her how ugly and sinful her thoughts were she grabbed me and wrapped my shirt as I was leaving the room and that’s when you came. God knows that this is the whole truth. Besides God I am scared of no one and I prefer prison instead of this house full of sin and deceit.”
Joseph’s words affected the king and did not witness what came about, he send Joseph away to consult with his adviser.
The king asked “what do you make if this story?”
The adviser replied “I don’t have a crystal ball but from the evidence, if Joseph’s shirt was ripped from front you could conclude they were struggling, but if the rip is from behind than you could conclude that Zolaykha was chasing him and this results in Joseph telling the truth.
The king accepted the an alizarin and once he examined Joseph’s shirt it was clear to him who is at fault.
The king told Zolaykha “this is your way of deceiving me. You women are all deceitful.”
Than he told Joseph “let. What happened be our secret and no one else must know,”
The king turned to Zolaykha “this was the worst and the most wrongful thing you have ever done. Go and ask for forgiveness and repined your sin. I am aware of Joseph’s appearance and wanted to take him as our son. Joseph is pure, well mannered and did not commit this sin and I thought you to be better than laughing and tasting and carrying on with him. These acts are not becoming to a queen and you should have pride in who you are and represent. Know your station and reframe from such behavior. Now what am I to do with this innocent young man. He does not deserve to be locked away in prison. I swear to all the idols if such behavior is seen by you again, I will not be responsible for my actions.”
And so the king threatened and scared his wife and hired guards to watch Zolaykha and report to him of any suspicious activities.
That day passed, the next day Zolaykha’s lady friends came to visit and they approached Zolaykha saying “you are correct, sometimes we want to pay attention to those we like but we should know better and reframe from giving our hearts to them. We should not allow situation to get out of hand. You have hundreds of slaves and Joseph is just one of them. Why do you create so much heart ache for yourself over a slave.”
Zolykha said “yes, what you say is true but you have only heard of what happened, you have not seen Joseph in person. Now I will have him come and serve us at our gathering.”
Zolaykha gave each woman an apple and a knife and said “Joseph does not like to be stared at, you can keep busy with carving this apple.”
Than Zolaykha called Joseph in to the room and instructed him to pour drinks. When the women set eyes on Joseph they were drowned in his features and instead of carving the apple they sliced their own hands.
Zolaykha said “yes, and this is the one you all were cushioning and judging me about.”
That’s when Joseph prayed to God to put him in prison.
Zolaykha’s guards informed the king and he realized his wife thoughts are still with Joseph, became angry and to shield her honor ordered Joseph To be imprisoned.
Follow story at: Joseph in Prison
Joseph in Prison
From the book Good stories for Good Children
Joseph was sent to prison and the same day two other slaves were imprisoned. These two realized Joseph to be a good and honest person.
Several days passed and one night the two men had a dream and they told Joseph to interpret their dream.
One said ” I dreamt that I am juicing grapes.”
The other said “I dreamt their is a tray full of bread on top f my head and birds are flying and eating from it”
Joseph said ” I will interpret your dream before dinner time as I come from a family of prophets and God has blessed me with this ability.”
After dinner time Joseph said “you saw to be juicing grapes mean s that you will be set free and work in the castle.”
He continued “and I am sorry but you will be hanged and the birds will be pecking at the corps. This is the interpretation of your dreams and each ones destiny is already known.”
Joseph asks the man who was to be set free to visit the king and mention his name for its not fair for an innocent man to be in prison.
This passed and time came for the two men to see their dreams become reality. The one who was set free forgot Joseph’s request and so Joseph remained in prison for several more years and both the king and Zolaykha forgot about him.
Joseph and the Dream Interpretation
Several years passed until one day king of Egypt had a dream that even the druids and magicians could not decipher.
The king dreamt that seven skinny cows ate seven beefy cows and seven cluster of dried wheat broke seven cluster of green fresh wheat.
When no one could interpret the dream the man who was released from prison remembered how Joseph was able to desperate his dream and it came true.
So he told the king “if you allow me, I know of someone who is the most knowledgable in interpreting dreams.”
“who is this person” they asked
Joseph “he is in prison”
“how do you know?” they asked him
“I know because my friend and I had a dream and Joseph’s interpretation was correct.”
The king said “go and ask him about my dream.”
Joseph replied “your dream means that in this world their will be seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine. We have to build storage facility to store the wheat and distribute the seven years of drought. After that the crop will be plentiful once again.”
When the king heard of this he siam “it’s understandable that this man is wise, do and release him and bring him to me.”
They send word to Joseph that the king is releasing you from prison.
Joseph replied “I did not commit any wrongdoing for the king to forgive me. The day that I be released from prison is the day I am priced innocent. You should first ask the king his view on Zolaykha’s accusations and others. If I am still guilty than why release me? My view has not changed, I am the same Joseph that I was.”
So they brought Joseph’s message to the king and he said “Joseph is telling the truth and this we must know and understand.”
The king gathered Zolaykha’s lady friends and said “today is a day we must be truthful about Joseph and reveal all that we know because we have a big happening ahead and covering up the truth will be very detrimental.”
The women said “the truth is we have never seen Joseph to have bad mannerism and as far as that insolent it was Zolaykha’s infatuation and the grudge she held for Joseph which resulted in accusing Joseph unjustly.”
Zolaykha stepped forward and said “with so many years gone by it would be wrong of me not to admit my fault. Satin possessed me to commit such act and everything Joseph said is to be true.”
They send word to Joseph and he said “I knew the liars would be sought out and the truthful people would be victorious.”
The king instructed “now bring Joseph to me so I can apologize for the past.”
As soon as Joseph was brought to the king he said “from this day forward your place is beside me and you will be in charge of the city and I hope you will help us in the matter at hand.”
Joseph said “in order of efficiency all the grain silos, barns and Egypt’s agriculture must be I trusted to me and I will instruct the farmers and see to the needs of all the people.”
Next passage is called: Joseph and the King of Egypt
Joseph and King of Egypt
From the book: Good Stories for Good Children
And so Joseph became the leader and for the seven years of plenty instructed and helped people to plant as much as possible and not to mill more grain than needed for a family and keep the grain on the plant so it will not be spoiled.
The preparation began, for seven years all the silos and barns were filled with grain and grain stock. The years of plenty passed and the seven years of famine followed. The drought was felt in the near by and far away lands and people came from all over to buy grain.
The grain was rationed and distribution systems was put in place where the people of Egypt received smaller quantities from time to time and those coming from afar received a full camel load and their names would be recorded in order for everyone to have a fair supply.
Famine had reached the city of Kanyon where Joseph’s brothers heard plentiful supply of grain in Egypt and thought to travel their purchase grain for the whole city. It would take 18 days by camel to travel from Kanyon to Egypt and it took 40 days to get their as some people were on foot. The brothers asked Jacob to allow them to make this trip. Jacob made the necessary instructions and held back Benjamin, Joseph’s younger brother.
When the brothers reached Egypt and were in the presence of the leader, Joseph, Joseph recognized his brothers but they did not recognize Joseph.
Joseph asked “where are you coming from?”
“from Kanyon” they replied.
Joseph told the helpers to treat his brothers with respect and sell to them as much grain as they need.
Joseph asked again “so, you did not say who you are and what you do?”
They said “we are all brothers. We are sons of Jacob, Jacob is the son of Izak and Isak is the son of Abraham. We worship God and our ancestors were prophets.”
Joseph asked “why didn’t your father come?”
“our father is old and week.” they replied
“so your father has 10 sons” Joseph asked
They said ” we were 12 brothers, one of our brother was attacked by wolves years ago and our father kept his younger brother with him. Our father is still heart broken for the loss of our brother and would not be at ease if our youngest brother is away from him.”
Joseph said “very good, from what you have seen we are very fair in managing and selling the grain and we are pleased having you come to Egypt and next time you make the trip you must bring your younger brother with you otherwise you can’t expect us to sell grain to you and send my regards to your father.”
They said “we understand and with our fathers approval will bring Benjamin next time.”
Joseph in secret told the workers after they have loaded the grain to give their sack of money back and hide it among the gain. And so they did.
The brothers said their goodbyes and once they reached Kanyon went straight to their father “oh father, they sold us grain this time but they complained as to why all 11 brothers did not come and next time they will not sell grain to us if we don’t take Benjamin.”
Jacob said “do you expect me to trust you again and let you take Benjamin with you. Of coarse God is the keeper of all.”
They unloaded the grain and found the sack of money. “see father, they even returned our money. We will go again And take Benjamin with us.”
After promising Jacob that they would look after Benjamin like their own lives, the 11 of them set out for the journey back to Egypt.
When they reached Egypt they said ” we did as promised, this is our younger per brother Benjamin.”
Joseph instructed the workers to be good hosts and since Benjamin was not as lively as the others joseph asked. “why are you so sad?”
Benjamin said “like my father, my brother Joseph is always in my thought. It was my brothers who took Joseph to the pastures and never returned, my brothers don’t look at me as one of their own.”
Joseph said “there is no need to be unhappy. Your brother is very much alive and in Egypt. I am Joseph, your brother. Friendship can create problems. My aunt loved me so much that she accused me of being a thief. My father’s love resulted in my brothers sending me adrift and hear Zalaykha’s love for me resulted in spending years in prison. But being God’s friend is above all. Now don’t divulge this to your brothers until due time. I will keep you from going back and I want to to allow whatever is going to happen. Don’t be sad or worry and even if they accused you of anything have patience and don’t say anything as I have a plan.”
Benjamin began to weep after hearing this news and said “my brothers will not allow me to stay. They promised to return me to our father.”
Joseph said “I have thought about that. Don’t you worry. If you don’t give our secret away, father will also come and this way is much better.”
Than Joseph told the workers to fill all 11 sacks on the camels and hide a golden scoop within Benjamin’s grain. And they obeyed.
The brothers lined up the camels ready to depart. Joseph told the workers to follow them and say the golden scoop is missing and the king of Egypt has instructed to search all the camels.
The brothers returned and they swore they do not know about any golden scoop. “we only came to buy grain not to steal and start a riot.” they insisted.
Joseph said “we are following the king’s command and the king said if the person comes forewarn and confesses will receive a full load of grain otherwise, we must search everyone.”
The brothers said “what will the punishment be? Our law is to keep the thief as our servant or slave. Search us and you will see we are innocent.”
They began searching the oldest brother first until they came to Benjamin’s camel and found the golden scoop.
Joseph said “very well, we will obey your law and keep Benjamin until your father is aware of this matter.”
One of the brothers said “yes, their is a history with steeling, his brother once stole his aunts belt and now this. But we must return with Benjamin. His father is old and frail and we promised to return with him and can not leave him here. You can hold one of us as ransom.”
No one can be held responsible for another’s doing. Even God does not punish one for another’s sin. Benjamin will stay and his father must come and decide for his.” Joseph said.
The oldest said to his brothers”Benjamin is in trusted to me. I promised our father to return Him and now I do not have the heart to go back and see father’s face. So I will stay here until father forgives me or somehow return with Benjamin to Kanyon. You all go and tell father what’s happened.”
The brothers returned and Jacob said “I am sorry for Benjamin and sorry for Joseph. You were the ones who took Joseph and did not return him. I know neither one is a thief and their is a wisdom in all this. I swear to you that Joseph is not dead and you all must search for him. Ask God for forgiveness and know that God is merciful.”
Jacob told his sons to return to Egypt.
And so with a small amount of money they set off. Once in Egypt they told Joseph “famine has hit our city and people are in need. We come with little money and ask to help us and release Benjamin to us. Our poor father is impatient and can not rest and the heartache he felt for loosing Joseph has been returned to him. Our father has asked us to question the ware abouts of Joseph but we don’t know who to ask and who would know such information. We are in a hard place and need help.”
Joseph said ” this is all your fault, do you know what you have done to Joseph out of ignorance? Was that the way to treat a brother? What did Joseph ever do to you that made you through him in a well and than sell him as a slave?”
After hearing this the brothers said “could it be that your Joseph or you know about Joseph.”
Joseph said “yes, I am Joseph. Look closely and this is my brother Benjamin and God provided to those who wait and are patient.”
The brothers said “in the name of God, you are right. You were God’s friend and God wanted you to be dear, dear to Jacob and dear to to the king of Egypt. We did not understand and did you wrong. We made a mistake and we are sorry until judgement day.”
Joseph said “now what’s past is past. I forgive and God will forgive. The time has come to bring our poor father out of misery. Now instead of a bloody shirt take this one to him.” and Joseph gable them his shirt. “put this shirt upon our father’s eyes so that the light will once again shine and than come with. All your relatives and families. Hurry now.”
Look for next section called: Jacob and Joseph reunite
Joseph and Jacob Reunite
From the story book: Good Stories for Good Children
The brothers brought this news to Jacob. “oh father, we come with good news that Joseph is alive and in Egypt. Joseph is the leader of Egypt. He is the king and hear is the proof. This is Joseph’s shirt.”
And they put it upon Jacob’s eyes.
Jacob said “before you came I felt the scent of Joseph, yes, this is Joseph’s shirt. My eyes can now see. My heart is calm. Didn’t I say Joseph is alive? I always new.”
The brother said “father, we did wrong, we were heartless and young. We were jealous and ignorant, please forgive us. We are ashamed of what we did to God, to you, to Joseph and to our families. Our story about being malice and bad reputation will remain for years to come. Please don’t reprimand us any more.”
Jacob said “may God forgive you for your sins. I will not curse you.”
Than according to Joseph’s instructions, Jacob and his family started the journey to Egypt. When they arrived they were taken to the castle where Joseph was waiting. Joseph embraced Jacob and his aunt, whom he called mother, and seated them and said “welcome to Egypt. We have hard days upon us and I hope you will be at ease here.”
It was at this time when father, mother and the 11 brothers were so excited they bowed down in the name of God and all his blessings.
Joseph said “father, the dream I had came true and God has bestowed much benefit on to me. god released me from prison of well and prison of Egypt and brought you to me from far away land and after satin caused my brothers and I to live apart for many years, God completed us for he is the magistrate of all.”
Jacob lived in Egypt for 30 years than past away. Joseph was a prophet and a king for 32 years after Jacob.
They say 72 people came to Egypt from Kanyon and the number grew to 700 at Mosses’s time.